Chapter 1 Pushed Off The Lifeboat

"Hannah, the boat is over capacity! We're going to flip! You have to jump!" Jake Oliver shouted at Hannah Oliver, his voice tight with panic. "If you stay, you'll drown every last one of us! Help is on the way-you only need to tread water for a few minutes!"

Surrounded by a violent, churning sea, the overcrowded lifeboat bucked against the towering waves, teetering on the verge of disaster.

Slamming into the hull, another massive swell nearly pitched Hannah overboard; she gripped the railing with white-knuckled desperation to stay topside.

Notably, every passenger was strapped into a bright orange life vest-everyone except her.

Fixing her third elder brother, Jake, with a piercing, lethal glare, Hannah responded in a voice like ice, "Why don't you jump? I don't know how to swim."

Wrestling with his own terror, Jake hissed through clenched teeth, "If you hadn't forced your way onto this trip, we wouldn't be over the limit."

"Brett insisted I join. Do you honestly believe I wanted to be in your company?"

Though her skin was ashen from the biting cold and lingering fear, Hannah didn't bother to mask the sheer contempt in her tone.

Hidden beneath her current exterior was a titan of the criminal underworld; following a near-fatal betrayal a year ago, she desperately needed a cover to heal in secret. Consequently, when the Oliver family surfaced to claim her as long-lost kin, she took the opening to vanish from the criminal world.

Unfortunately, the homecoming was ruined when Lainey Oliver, the family's adopted daughter, staged a fall down the stairs by Hannah. The stunt worked, instantly turning the Olivers against her.

Following that first incident, the year was a blur of sabotage and slander from Lainey. Despite Hannah's numerous attempts to prove her innocence, she remained a pariah, with only her eldest brother, Brett Oliver, showing her a shred of human kindness.

Musing on her situation, she knew her subordinates would be hysterical if they saw her now-how had Nebula, the world's most feared assassin, become a punching bag for the Oliver family?

Interjecting with a frail, tear-filled voice, Lainey whimpered, "No, I'll be the one to go. I'll sacrifice myself so you can survive. Just... Please don't forget me."

"No!"

"Don't do that!"

Jake and Hannah's fiance, Kenneth Warren, bellowed the rejection in perfect sync.

Kenneth instinctively caught Lainey's arm, his eyes burning with pure animosity as he rounded on Hannah.

"You played on Lainey's selflessness, knowing she'd offer herself up, didn't you?" Kenneth's chest heaved, his features twisted in a grimace of utter degradation. "Fine, Hannah! You win. Your pathetic little trap worked. Get off this boat this instant, and I'll give you the marriage you've been so desperate for the second I return."

The sheer absurdity of his words made Hannah wonder if her hearing had finally failed her.

On paper, Kenneth was her fiance, yet in reality, he had spent every waking moment serving as Lainey's self-appointed knight.

A sharp, mocking laugh escaped her lips. "What on earth gave you the impression that I'm still interested in being your wife?"

A massive, thunderous swell chose that moment to collide with the hull, sending the lifeboat into a terrifying, gut-wrenching tilt.

The cold reality of their mortality hung heavy over the deck, and even Hannah felt a primal chill of terror settle deep in her bones.

She was under no illusions... To leave the safety of the boat in these conditions was to sign her own death warrant.

Lainey's tears began to flow anew. "Kenneth, I can't let you throw your life away for me. I only want the rest of you to survive. Goodbye, everyone-I love you."

The boat pitched again, causing her to stumble toward the edge as Kenneth's fingers slipped from her arm.

In the split second she drew level with Hannah, Lainey's saintly mask shattered to reveal a look of pure malice. Using the momentum of the rocking boat, she threw her full weight into a violent shove at Hannah.

Despite the shock of the betrayal, Hannah's sharp instincts kicked in; she reached out and snagged Lainey's wrist just as she began to fall.

The water erupted in a massive spray as both women were dragged down into the churning, icy depths.

Lainey's voice pierced the air, a frantic, high-pitched scream from the dark waves. "Ah! Save me!"

"Lainey!"

"Lainey, hurry! Grab my hand so we can haul you in!"

While Hannah thrashed in the bone-chilling depths, she finally gasped for air only to realize the entire crew was focused on Lainey. Not a single soul even glanced in her direction.

Disappointment clouded her vision as she realized they were well within reach of saving her, yet they chose to ignore her existence.

Fighting against the current, she reached the side of the lifeboat and latched onto the railing with a desperate grip.

Suddenly, a towering wall of water descended, slamming into Hannah and dragging her into the abyss. Before she could even scream, the sea had completely erased her.

When the men finally dragged a shivering Lainey onto the deck, the dark water where Hannah had been was now hauntingly empty.

Silence reclaimed the waves, leaving the sea appearing as undisturbed as if no struggle had occurred at all.

Jake swallowed hard, his eyes wide with growing terror. "Hannah... Wait, where did she go?"